Charlie Olken has a blog. Big deal. New wine blog on the block. But wait. Consider the context: If I'm not mistaken, Charlie Olken's foray into freely accessed, on-line publishing in a diary-like format marks him as perhaps the most...

On September 3rd an important court ruling emerged out of a Federal Court in Illinois in the Case of Anheuser Busch v. Schnorf (Download Illinois ruling). The ruling reiterated a holding implied in the Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court case...

"I do not believe nature has any use for our democracies. Some things are better than others, and on of our functions is to guide our readers toward appreciation of these distinctions as gracefully a we're able." This is Terry...

Anyone familiar with "Franchise Laws" within the alcohol beverage industry will not be surprised to learn that in a working paper prepared by an attorney and economist for the Federal Trade Commission, such laws were determined to hurt consumers. Or,...

The upcoming November 2nd election is among the most important for the American wine industry in a very long time. Two issues should be watched closely by the wine, beer and spirits industry: 1) the outcome of the race for...

I was disappointed, though not surprised, to see that today a conjunctive labeling law dictating that "Sonoma County" be placed on every label on wines produced from grapes grown in Sonoma County was unanimously passed by the California Legislature ....

Back around the early 1990s if you wanted to spend time on-line discussing wine with fellow oenophiles you frequented the "wine boards" on AOL and Compuserve. These were the premier "bulletin boards" where folks passionate about wine would post topics,...

The Great Recession continues. Like most folks who have an inkling about the linkage between economic growth, national greatness, prosperity and individual happiness, I am concerned that this recession could linger and create a new sense of "Normal" in which...

The embarrassment I feel when I come across a long running editorial outlet that is both extremely well done and relatively unknown to me is palpable. I also get a bit angry with myself because I know now that had...

If we can just find a way to assure that the various diseases and virus that attack grapevines continue to thrive, it's likely we can make this a better world. But who can we call on to advance this worthy...

Despite his claims, Matt Kramer is not a Journalist. This should be clear within the first few moments of cracking his new book, a retrospective of his columns from various venues entitled: "Matt Kramer on Wine: A Matchless Collection of...

I'm going to offer a contention I think might piss off a few people: A liberal arts education is the best foundation for a life of enjoying wine and working in wine. Yes, I have one; an education grounded in...

H.R. 5034, the bill written and sponsored by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and supported by the Wine & Spirit Wholesales Association, has yet to receive a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee. And despite it having 136 Co-sponsors in...

People listen to Tim Atkin. At least wine people and wine industry people do, if not others who just think him a nice guy. But the reason the winiest among us listen to him is because for many years now...